The Jagadish Temple

On my previous visit, this well known temple in Udaipur was surrounded by bamboo scaffolding and was difficult to photograph. In fact it was taken on colour print film so you can appreciate that my last visit was a good while ago.

While I was editing this scene I was reflecting on what attracted me to this location.

I had been here before and there was no scaffolding.

It was early morning and therefore not cluttered with people and traffic.

The architecture is full of character and has evolved without regard for town planning.

Why is it that modern buildings avoid the quirky and cluttered, and are more concerned with corporate and clinical efficiency, rather than embracing the intimate and human scale that these old towns retain?

I understand that current building techniques are different. I appreciate that access by transport has changed the environment in which buildings are placed. I believe that architects when in training have to study how villages have evolved naturally so that they often have an organic feel, and yet we still end up with little boxes with unvarying scales and distribution of units.

Can’t we cope with irregular? Do we really desire conformity? Where can we see new buildings that explore these ideas in an original way and which don’t become a pastiche of old styles?